I believe that Canadian Genesis Ritchot has found the magic recipe that works every time: wonderful vocal harmonies that perfectly match the strings of his acoustic guitar. So why would you change a recipe that works?

If you loved "Kitchen Sink" or "If You Cared", you will undoubtedly love his new single "Robin". Nothing to do with Batman. Here, the artist alludes instead to the Robin of "How I Met Your Mother", a cultural reference that you will have a hard time picking up if you don't know the hit TV show.

About the song, Genesis says "it tells the story of a young man waiting to find the right timing to get back into the arms of his soulmate". And our favorite Canadian brings up an important subject here. Because time is exactly the only resource that we struggle to master. For some reason... Yet it is time that helps us fix many things or solve impossible equations.

And when, like me, you slowly reach 35, you will realize that time is the most precious commodity you have. Time is probably the only thing on Earth that we learn to master... over time. Yes, you're not dreaming, it's the only thing that can be both a problem and a solution to the same problem. Quite tricky, huh?

So, throughout the song, Genesis recounts the months that pass and bring back memories with his Robin: "Every month of May reminds me of the old days, [...] Every month of June reminds me the best of you, [...] Every month of July reminds me of that one time playing games in your basement only days before our separation". Over the verses, the calendar unfolds in front of us.

And the most logical and lucid line of the song is "But I don't want to wait till we're old and out of shape". Yes, it may seem a bit cliché, when everywhere on the internet and more specifically on social media, self-proclaimed coaches tell you to live fully in the present time and not miss any opportunity. Whereas precisely, social media have become the plague of the 21st century since it is the most time-consuming thing and our time/attention is the best-monetized thing in the world. So, I know sometimes I might be considered a bit of a wise old man, but I'll say it again: time is the one resource that you can't control 100%, so don't let algorithms control it for you.

It is after dissecting this analogy with Time with a capital T, that we realize the genius of Genesis Ritchot. He is young, but he has already understood everything. And he also masters the art of metaphor using a fictional character as the ultimate reference. It's just brilliant.

As I said at the beginning of my write-up, the vocal harmonies of Genesis have become a central element of his tracks, for our greatest pleasure. Because he worked hard on these harmonies, and it shows! Hard worker, maybe a bit of a perfectionist (but I am too, so we can't consider that a bad point), Genesis is like a pastry chef who will refine his recipe for hours and hours. And if it's disgusting, he'll try again. Until he reaches perfection. This is what shines through his music and this is what I feel with this new single.

It's been a little over two weeks since I listened to "Robin", and the melody doesn't seem to want to leave my memory. Sometimes I sing it at any time of the day. The melody of the chorus is not very far from that of the verses. Which makes the song even easier to memorize. Even if it was not the primary goal of the artist, it works wonderfully. Masterstroke.

As a truly gifted storyteller, Genesis Ritchot signs yet another masterpiece that your playlists will no longer be able to do without.

Reach out to Genesis Ritchot

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Written with love by Niko. "Robin" has been added to our "Indie Music" playlist on Spotify.